Trunk-harness.



' L'.. J. WILCOX.

' TRUNK HARNESS. APPLICATION FILED AUG. '18, 1909.

Patented Aug. 9, 1910..'

LUTHER J. WILCOX, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

TRUNK-HARNESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 9, 1910.

Application filed August 18, 1909. Serial No. 513,468.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER J. VVILoox, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Trunk-Harness, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to trunk harnesses, and has for an object to provide a device of this character which will hold the cover of the trunk closed should the lock become broken during the rough handling of baggage men.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which will brace the sides and cover of the trunk when overpacked and release the hinges and lock of the abnormal strain.

Still another object is to provide a device of this character which can be adjusted to any trunk, and will be light and strong in construction and can be packed away in a minimum amount of space when not in use.

With these advantages and other objects in View, which will be shown in the following specification and set forth in the claim, my invention embraces the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the trunk harness in applied position. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the threaded adjusting pin.

It is well known that trunks are subject to very rough usage when being transferred to their destinatlon and very often the hinges or lock will be broken oif entirely, leavin the contents of the trunk unprotected an liable to pilfering by unauthorized persons. In order to provide for an occasion of this kind I have invented a trunk harness which can be easily adjusted to the trunk and will be reliable under all conditions of usage.

The invention consists of elements adapted to engage the end edges of a trunk and having branched terminals to span or straddle the corners, the terminals being held drawn taut toward the center of the cover and the bottom of the trunk so that a stress is exerted upon the corners tending to draw the same toward the center of gravity of the trunk.

The harness is composed of four braces each formed from a pair of wires held together for a portion of their length by stranding or equivalentmeans to form clamping elements 5 adapted to be held parallel with and snugly engage the end edges of a trunk. The wires of each pair branch from the stranded portion and span or straddle the corners of the trunk, as shown at 6 and 7 The terminals of the branches 6 are connected together at approximately the center of the trunk bottom by a ring 8 or other suitable connecting means. In order to permit the terminals of the branches to be slidable on the connecting ring so that the harness may be adjusted to any sized trunk without causing the wires to be crimped or bent laterally at their juncture with the ring, an eye 9 is arranged at the extremities of the branches 6 to loosely engage the ring 8. The terminals of the branches 7 are drawn together toward the center of the trunk cover and held taut by a turn buckle device which permits the harness to be held under any desired degree of tension and also permits the harness to be adjusted to fit any trunk without altering the harness in any manner, as will now be described. The terminals of the branches 7 embracing the edges of the same end of a trunk are connected to frames 10 and .11. Each frame is provided at its free extremity with a threaded lug 12 to receive a threaded extremity of the pin 13 which is provided with a right hand and left hand thread at its opposite ends. An opening '14 is formed in the pin to receive a suitable key for rotating the pin. The clamping elements 5 are slidable upon the end edges of a trunk so that the harness may be applied to any rectangular trunkregardless of its size, the pin 13 and frames 10 and 11 performing the function of a turn buckle to hold the terminals 7 drawn toward the center of the cover and under any desired degree of tension in every case.

It is evident that the branches 6 and 7 by spanning or straddling the corners of the trunk and being drawn toward the center of the cover and bottom of the trunk will exert a stress upon the corners of the trunk in the direction of the center of gravity so that the trunk is braced diagonally to withstand any abnormal strain resulting from the overpacking of the trunk or from external causes. It will be seen that the cover of the trunk is clamped vertically upon the body of the trunk by the harness, which latter may be placed under suflicient tension to relieve the trunk lock and hinges of all strain.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it is thought that the construction and operation of my invention will be easily understood Without a more extended explanation, it being understood that various changes maybe made in the form, proportion and minor details of construction Without sacrificing any of the advantages or departing from the spirit of the invention.

l/Vhat is claimed is:

A trunk harness consisting of elements disposed parallel with and adapted to slidingly engage the end edges of a trunk said elements terminating at each end in diverging branches to span or straddle the corners of a trunk, a ring connecting together the branches of one end of each element, said branches being freely movable upon the ring, and means adjustably connecting together the branches upon the opposite end of each element and operating to hold the said branches drawn toward the center of the trunk.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses] LUTHER J. WILCOX.

Witnesses:

DIOKSON R. STEELE, WALTER IRONS. 

